Misunderstandings

It was Thursday and I was excited because that evening I had plans to meet a friend for dinner. Just to be safe, I texted my friend to confirm the time and place we would meet. A few minutes later my phone rang. It was my friend explaining she thought we had planned to meet the following Thursday. One of us had gotten the date wrong, which created our misunderstanding.

Similar to misunderstandings in life, I believe there are times we can misunderstand Scripture. Sometimes, without even realizing it or trying to do so, we can think a verse means one thing when it really means another.

This happened to me recently as I read the book of James. James 1:5-8 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”

When I was growing up, my class memorized these verses at our Christian school. Unfortunately, I misunderstood their meaning. I used to think James was saying that I should bring my specific requests to God and then believe that He will answer my prayer according to His will. When I read these verses as an adult, I was surprised to realize that I had misunderstood their true message.

In reality, James is telling us that if we need wisdom in our lives, we should ask God for it. These verses don’t say we should ask God to fix our situation, but that we should ask God for wisdom to deal with our circumstance. He promises that God will give us wisdom when we ask, on one condition. We must believe and not doubt.

Lately I’ve realized the second part of those verses is actually the hardest part for me. I can say I believe God will give me wisdom, but do I really trust and believe, or do I keep some of the control for myself? I’m a planner and a controller, so I don’t like to leave any part of my life up to someone else. James speaks clearly, though, that we must ask for wisdom and believe that God will give it to us, or we cannot expect to receive anything from God.

Those are powerful words. Now that I understand their true meaning, I am working on putting it into practice in my daily life. When a challenge arises, I now ask for wisdom to deal with the challenge and then tell God I believe He is in control (not me!). This is a new concept for me to implement in my life. However, now that James set me straight, I need to learn from my misunderstanding!

Prayer: Thank you Lord, for clarifying what Scripture verses really mean. I don’t want to misunderstand Your Word. Thank you for Your promise that if we ask for wisdom, You will give it to us generously, without finding fault. Please clear up any misunderstandings I may have in my spiritual walk so that I may grow closer to You.

Scripture: James 1